Institutional tables of the type that can be folded for storage and then unfolded for use are commonly found in schools and churches across the country. These tables will often have a table top comprised of two sections hinged together as well as being oftentimes joined to bench or stool seating. The supporting structure for many of these tables will include a center leg support and two outer leg supports.
The center leg support is comprised of an upper member and a lower member wherein the lower member is capable of telescopically collapsing within the upper member. The center leg support is mechanically connected to the table top sections and seating sections in such a manner that when the table is folded, the lower member is free to separate from the upper member by moving downward from the upper member, thereby drawing the two sides of the table together into a closed and compact state. This process is assisted by compression springs within the support which are biased toward the table being in a folded position. When the table is later opened, the lower member retracts back to a position substantially within the upper member. Given the urging by the compression springs for the two members to separate, a latching mechanism is provided to secure the lower member to the upper member at a position whereby the table is prevented from leaving its unfolded state.
On many folding tables, however, the latching mechanism on the center leg support is triggered only when the table is fully unfolded and only when the lower member has been compressed into the upper member an exact and specific distance. This poses a number of problems in the operation of such tables over time.
One such problem is that a rise or bump in the floor beneath the center leg support so that it is elevated in comparison to the surface beneath the outer leg supports may make it difficult to completely unfold the table so as to activate the lock or latch present on the center support. Even if the user is successful in forcefully triggering the lock, the effort required can cause stress and oftentimes damage to the support structure itself as well as to any cap or other covering placed over the base of the support. In addition, given the unevenness found on most floors, repeated use of the table on such a surface will leave numerous holes or indentations where contact is made between the center leg support and the various elevated regions. These problems will continue unless a way is found by the user to either make an adjustment in the manner in which the support is held in place by the latching mechanism or identify those areas on a given floor over which the table should not be erected.
Another shortcoming is the inability of the latching mechanism on most folding tables to adjust to the strength of the person unfolding the table. Many custodians in schools and churches prefer that such tables lock “light”. This means that he or she is not required to exert the additional force needed to further compress the lower member into the upper member before the latching mechanism finally latches. “Latching light” would also reduce the level of force needed to later unlatch the latching mechanism.
Other than either removing the latching mechanism and reinstalling it at a different location altogether on the center leg support or else grinding down the point of contact between the latch and its catch in order to make it easier to lock, there is little that can be done to make adjustments in the operation of the latching mechanism on many institutional folding tables so as to meet the needs of its particular user. Moreover, even these solutions have limited value since unfolding the table at a different spot in the school or church might require yet another readjustment.
This invention addresses these problems and shortcomings, however, in a simple and inexpensive manner.